Folding umbrella



Oct. 24, 1939. E. OKUN FOLDING UMBRELLA Filed Jan. 15, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet l m m M EDWA RD 01am 5 A TTORNE Y.

Oct. 24, 1939. E. OKUN FOLDING UMBRELLA Filed Jan. 15, 1938 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 24, 1939 llElS SllEfi umr zo STATES PATENTOFFlCE 13 Claims.

This invention relates to umbrellas, and more particularly to foldingumbrellas, and the primary object of the invention is to generallyimprove such umbrellas.

Umbrellas which fold to particularly small dimension by making theumbrella stick of telescopic parts and by articularitng the ribs, arealready known. Such an umbrella is described in my Patent No. 2,068,067,granted January 19, 1937. As heretofore constructed, the ribs are madeof strips of metal having a substantially rectangular section. Thesection is made rectangular with a view to obtaining flexibility in onedirection, together with adequate strength, and with a further View tominimizing the overall diameter of the umbrella when it is folded. Theends of the ribs are twisted and machined to facilitate articulation ofthe ribs and pivoting of the ribs on the umbrella stick.

The resulting structure has proved to be unsatisfactory for a number ofreasons. The ribs have no sideward flexibility, being flexible only inone direction. Moreover, to avoid excess weight and in order tofacilitate working or machining the ends of the ribs, it has been foundnecessary to make the same of a comparatively soft pliable metal. Theraw stock as purchased by the umbrella manufacturer cannot beprehardened because then it cannot be satisfactorily worked, and it isnot feasible to harden the parts after fabricating the same, first,because of the large attendant expense, and second, be-

cause of substantial warping of the parts during hardening. Inconsequence, the ribs are left soft, and this is disadvantageous becauseif deformed during use, they take a setor deformed position, whichspoils the appearance of the umbrella when open, and the compactnesswhen closed. Moreover, the difficulty has beena selfaggravating one,because with a soft pliable metal it has been necessary to use metal oflarger section, and this in turn causes the completed umbrellas to lookundesirably cumbersome, metallic and machine-like, and prevents theumbrella from folding to the desired small-diameter, comened steel orother appropriate spring metal.

The wire is inexpensive. because of its simple round section, and may bevery slender because of its resilient character, and even moreimportantly, because the desired stability and breadth of section isobtained by using a plurality, preferably two, such wires in collateralrelation. In this way adequate strength is obtained, together withfiexibilty, and at the same time the structure folds to very smalldiametrical dimension. Special fittings are used at the ends of thewires, thus avoiding working of the metal.

In accordance with a further feature and object of the invention, theribs are flexible in all directions, despite the fact that the sectionis broad in one direction. Moreover, the fitting at the hinge connectionbetween the upper and lower ribs is made such as to obtain a snug fit atthe hinge. This snug fit is maintained throughout the life of theumbrella because any sideward bending of the rib is accommodated by theflexibility of the rib itself, and does not result in loosening thehinge.

Still another object of my invention is to improve the runner of theumbrella, and particularly its cooperation with the detent which holdsthe runner in top position, that is, with the ribs spread. To releasethis detent has heretofore been troublesome because it must be pushedinwardly by the thumb while at the same time attempting to move thethumb: and runner downwardly on the stick. In some cases scratching orinjury to the thumb has resulted. In accordance with a feature of myinvention, a' special finger piece is movably mounted on the runner, andthis finger piece is so positioned as to facilitate release of thedetent, the thumb being pressed on the finger piece and moved downwardlywith the finger piece and runner, all without directly contacting thedetent itself.

A further and more detailed object centers about the attachment of thefittings to the wires. To solder or braze the parts is prohibitivelyexpensive, and welding spoils the temper of the spring wire. I find itdesirable to use a non-ferrous or rust-proof metal for the fittings inorder to prevent binding at the pivots, and this metal is relativelysoft. By roughening or knurling the hardened wire, the fitting may beclamped on the wire' and securely attached because of interloclnng ofthe hard and soft metals.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as willhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the umbrella elements andtheir relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularlydescribed in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims.The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the under side of an umbrella embodyingfeatures of my in- Fig. 6 is a section taken through the hinge. of therib taken in the plane of the line 6--6 I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the runner;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section through the runner taken in the plane ofthe line 8-8 of Fig. 3

umbrella with the umbrella in folded condition; and

Fig. 10 shows a wire knurled'to ensure secure attachment of the fitting.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the umbrellacomprises an umbrella stick having telescopically related parts !2 andM, these preferably being made of tubular metal and having a' springdetent It for holding the parts in extended relation whenthe umbrella isbeing used. The ribs are articulated, there being upper ribs 58 andlower ribs 20 hingedly connected together at 22. The upper and lowerribs each consist of a pair of collaterally disposed spring wires, thesewires preferably being of simple round section. With the constructionshown, the wires may be very slender so that the finished umbrella doesnot have the cumbersome heavy metallic and machine-like appearance ofconventional folding umbrellas. The upper ribs 18 are pivotallyconnected to the upper stick portion I2 at 24. Spreaders 26 areprovided, these being connected at their lower ends to- .a tubularrunner 28 which is slidable on upper stick l2. The upper ends ofspreaders 2B are pivotally connected to upper ribs l8 by means ofappropriate fittings 3ll.- The runner '28 is held in the top positionshown, that is, with the ribs in'spread condition, by means of anappropriate detent 32 mounted on the umbrella stick, and, in accordancewitha feature of my invention, this, detent is released by a specialfingerpiece 34 pivotally mounted on runner 28;

Considering the construction of the umbrella in greater detail, andreferring now to Fig. 2.0f the drawings, the upper rib IB compriseswires4il and 42 arranged in side by side or collateral relation. Thelower rib 20 similarly comprises collaterally disposed wires 44 and 46.The twin wires 44 and 46 may be and preferably are slightly smaller indiameter than the twin wires 40 and 42. In one specific example, whichhas worked out well in practice, the wires 40 and 42 are .066" indiameter, while wires 44 and 46 are .062 in diameter. The wires may bemade of steel or other suitable resilient material, and these wires maybe appropriately hardened or tempered because no attempt is made tomachine or work the same, the connections to the wires being made byspecial fittings which are next described.

The fittings as here illustrated are all formed of sheet metal. They arepreferably made of a non-ferrous metal, for example, nickel-silvenorbrass, in order to prevent any possibility of rusting at the pivotalconnections. Rusting of the wires is prevented by cadmium plating theentire rib and spreader assembly after the parts have been fabricated,but inasmuch as the plating may be worn away at the pivotal connections,I prefer to use non-ferrous metal for such connections. The fitting atthe upper end of the rib 18 consists of a body of sheet metal the upperend of which is shaped and bent to form parallel ears 48 preferablyconnected by a web of metal 50 extending therebetween. The ears 48 areperforated at 52 for pivotal connection to the top of the umbrellastick. This is done by using a conventional peripherally channeled head54, preferably made of non-ferrous metal, the circumference of which isslotted at 56 to receive ears 48. A pivot wire,

not shown, passes through the perforations 52 and is anchored in channel58. The lower part of the sheet metal body encompasses the ends of wires40 and 42. More specifically, the side edge Fig. 9 is a section throughthe handle of the" 60 is curled about wire 40 and the side edge 62 iscurled about wire 42. The parts may conceivably be additionally securedtogether by soldering, brazing, spot-welding, or other appropriatemeans. But soldering and brazing are prohibitively expensive, andwelding spoils the temper of the spring metal and makes the sameexcessively brittle. I have, therefore, devised a different mode ofattachment and find that an adequate secure attachment of the parts maybe obtained by preliminarily roughening or knurling the ends of thewire, and thereafter clamping the fitting on the roughened ends. Theform of the knurling may vary, but that shown in Fig. 10 is adequate andis convenient because it may be produced by simple reciprocatingV-shaped dies moved toward one another against the wire, thus indentingor ridging the same on four sides. The curling of the edges 60 and 62about the wires serves'not only to secure the fitting to each of thewires, but also, to space the wires somewhat apart, and this isdesirable in order to'give the rib a broad overall section while usingslender wire.

The fitting 30 is wrapped about the wires approximately midway betweenthe ends thereof. It is folded in the opposite direction, that is, withthe closed side 64 outermost. The construction of this fitting is bestshown in Fig. 4, in which it will be seen that ears 66 are formed'at theedges of a piece of sheet metal, these ears being bent to parallelspaced position and perforated to receive a pivot pin 68. Spreader 26 ismade of a single piece of round wire of somewhat greater diameter andits upper end is pinched or flattened at Til to fit between ears 66,,thepart H3 being perforated to receive pin 68. Spreader 26 need not be andis preferably not made of tempered carbon steel wire, but is merely coldrolled, it being somewhat heavier in diameter, say fi. This material isreadily worked to form the end 10. The edges of the sheet metal fittingon each side of the ears 66 are curled around the respectively adjacentrib wires, and here again, the construction is such that the fitting isindependently clamped onto each of the wires and the wires arepreferably separated by the edges of the fitting, that is, by an amountequal to double the thickness of the sheet material used for thefitting. Here also, the rib wires may be roughened or knurled beforeclamping the fitting in place.

The lower ends of spreaders 26 are similarly pinched to form flattenedparts 12 (Fig. 3) which are perforated to receive wire 14 secured inchannel 16 extending about the periphery of the upper end of runner 28.

The hinge fitting 22 has ears 16 formed at its side edges, and'theseears are preferably refined by "inwardly turnedrflanges "I8 which aresmooth I and rounded and the object of which is to pre- .vent abrasionand wear of the fabric covering of the umbrella, it being understoodthat the ears l6 face-outwardly or toward the fabric. The ears areperforated to receive'a hinge pin 80. Above ears 'IBthe edges of thesheetmetalare turned inwardly around the respectively adjacent ribwires,

the edges terminating between the wires and thereby spacing the same aswas previously ex plained. Here again, the ends ofthe wires arepreliminarily" roughened or knurled to insure a secure grip by thefitting on the wires.

"Below the ears 76 the edgesof the metal form parallel guide flanges 82,the relation of these flanges being best shown in Fig. 6. The flangesare'so spaced as to accurately receive the lower hinge portion 84 with asnug fit, thereby holding the upper and lower ribs'in alignment. 7 ,Thelower hinge part 84 follows the general character 'of constructionpreviously explained,

that is, it consists of a piece of preferably nonferrous sheet materialthe upper part of which is "bent to form perforated ears 86, best shownin.

Fig. 5, these ears being connected by a web of metal 88 whichstrengthens'and rigidifies the fitting and'which additionally functionsto present a s'moo'th surface tothe umbrella'fabric. The lower part ofthe fitting encompasses the upper 7 ends of'wires 44 and the edges ofthe metal being curled about the respectively adjacent wires and thewires being preliminarily roughened as aforesaid. Here again, the edgesof the fitting terminating between the wires function to slightly spacethe wires.

, I Whileit is not new to use guide flanges 82 to hold the upper andlower ribs in alignment, I mayfpoint out that with the presentconstruction, the guide flanges function successfully and admirably forthe intended purpose, whereas with a rectangularrib having a twistedend, the guide flanges were 'not particularly successful, this being dueto the fact that most of the length of thatpartof the lower rib comingbetween the guide flanges was twisted to for-m a part of the 'hinge,thus*afio'rding very little bearing surface between the lower rib andthe guide flanges.

Withthepresent construction, the sides of the hinge part 84 are parallelup to a point very close to the hinge pim'and substantialbearing surfaceis obtained between the parts, as will-be seen in Figs. 2 and 5. Thesnug relation between these parts willalso be evident from inspection ofFig. 6 which, incidentally, shows the curling of thee-dges of thefitting about the' wire as well as the indentations. 90 which arevisible because theindentations here used arebiased rather than strictlytransverse of the wire. The end fitting 92 consists of a piece of sheet,inaterialthe edges 94 of the upper part of which are curled around therespectively adjacent wires,

the wires being preliminarily knurled, all as has 'beenexplained. Thelower part of the fitting is narrower than the upper part and its edges96 7 in proper position.

The flexibility of my novel improved double wire rib in adirec-tio'nperpendicular to the plane of the two wires, that is, in adirectionacconh, modating the curvature of the ribs when the umbrella isopened, as shown in Fig. 1, will be self-evident, for the wires areslender and are located side by side, and both bend together. The mannerin which the rib will accommodate sideward bending, that is, bending inthe plane of the twowires, is not so evident, but will be understood byreference to Fig. 5, in which it will be seen that if the tip 96 of therib is bent sidewardly, the rib accommodates the bend because one of thewires, in this case the wire 44, rides over and takes ajcurvaturedifferent from and independent of the other rib 46. This avoidsexcessive strain on the hinge 22, and the initial snug fit between theguide flanges 82 and the lower hinge part 84 is maintained throughoutthe life of the umbrella.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 7, and 8, the upper umbrella stick I2 isprovided with a springdetent 32 formed at the lower end of a piece ofspring metal I02 having an inwardly bent part I04 received in a matingslot I06. The lower part I08 of the'detent spring is oscillatable' in aslot ,I It]. The spring is held anchored in position on stick I2 by aring I I2, one side of which is grooved at M4 to receive spring Hi2. Thelower end or operative part 32 of the detent is dimensioned to fit intoa mating slot II6 cut through the side wall of runner 28, as is bestshown in Fig. 8. -In accordance with the present invention, runner 28 isprovided with a finconceal detent 32. At its upper end, fingerpiece 34is provided with ears I I8 which are perforated to receive the wire I4and which are pivotally mounted thereby, as will be evident frominspection of Figs. 3, '7, and 8. The lower part of fingerpiece 34 ispreferably indented as shown at I20, thus forming a protuberance whichbears against detent 32 and moves it into the umbrella stick and clearof the runner when'it is desired to close the umbrella. Protuberance I20is, of course, not made long enough to itself interfere with downwardmovement of the runner. surface of fingerpiece 34 is broad and smoothcompared to the tiny surfaces of detent 32, and the fingerpiece,therefore, adds greatly to the comfort of the user" when closing theumbrella, first because of the large surface area pressed upon, andsecondly, and even more importantly, because the fingerpiece moves withthe runner in contrast with the detent which remains behind as therunner is moved downwardly and which, therefore, used to cause scoringand scratching of the skin. I

Referring now to Fig. 9, I there show the lower end of the umbrella whenit is inclosed condition. The upper tube I2 is moved down over the lowertube I 4. The lower tube carries a suitable ornamental handle I 22, thispreferably being made of a suitable plastic compositon. Handle' I22 isprovided with an inner flange I 28 which receives the lower end ofrunner 28. A spring I26 may be carried within flange I 24 forcooperation with a ledge I24 formed at the lower end made slightlyreciprocable with respect to the The , gerpiece 34 which is disposed infront of and may lower tube I 4 on which it is mounted. Morespecifically, handle I22 is threadedly mounted on an auxiliarytube I32,this tube being limitedly slidable within the lower end of tube I4. Tolimitthe motion of tube I32, it is slotted at I34 to receive a pin I36which passes diametrically through" and is anchored in tube I4. Pin I36also functions to hold the upper end of a spring I38 the lower end ofwhichis connected to the handle and tube I32 by means of a pin I40. Itwill be evident that spring I38 normally. holds handle I 22' in'theposition shown, but that the handle may be pulled outwardly somewhatwhen it is desired to receive the-tips 98 of the umbrella ribstherewithin, in order to holdthe umbrella in closed condition when theumbrella has not yet been folded to half length, as, for example,

when the umbrella is still wet, or is going to be,

and described my invention in a preferred form,

many changes and modifications may be made in thestructure disclosedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A folding umbrella rib comprising hingedly connected upper and lowerribs each consisting of aplurality of wires arranged side by side.

2. A folding umbrella ribcomprising hingedly connected upper and lowerribs, each including a pair of collaterally arranged wires, said wiresbeing made of suitably hardened spring metal, and fittings made of softrust-proof metal secured to the ends of said wires and functioning tohold the same in desired relation and to hingedly connect the upper andlower ribs.

3; A folding umbrella rib comprising pairs of collateral resilient wiresacting as upper and lower ribs, and sheet metal fittings secured to saidwires, the fittings each comprising connected perforated ears projectingfrom a sheet metal body encompassing the wires, the side edges of saidbody being curled around the respectively adjacent wires to secure thesame to each of the wires and to hold the wires in slightly spacedrelation.

4. A folding umbrella rib comprising pairs of collateral wires actingas'upper and lower ribs, said wires being made of hardened spring metaland having knurled ends, and soft rust-proof sheet metal fittingssecured to said wires, the fittings each comprising connected perforatedears projecting from a sheet metal body encompassing the wires, the sideedges of said body being curled around the knurled ends ofthe-respectively adjacent wires. 7

5. A folding umbrella rib comprising collapsibly related upper and lowerribs-the upper and lower ribs each comprising a pair of collateralresilient solid wires, and a fitting at the lower end of the lower ribconsisting of a generally T-shaped. sheet metal body, the upper part ofwhich has one side curled around the end of one wire and the other sidecurled around the end of the other wire, while the lower part of saidfitting is curled to itself form a single tubular tip at the end of thedouble rib for receiving a conventional ornament.

6. A folding umbrella r'b comprising pairs of collateral resilient wiresacting as upper and forming a guide channel for receiving the fitting atthe upper end of the lower rib, and the fitting at the upper end of thelower rib comprising a v pair of connected perforated ears to receivethe hinge pin and,projecting upwardly from a sheet metal body the edgesof which are curled around the respectively adjacent wires of the lowerrib.

'7. A folding umbrella rib comprising pairs of collateral wires actingas upper and lower ribs,

said wires being resilient and round in section, and sheet metalfittings secured to said wires, the fitting at the upper end of theupper rib comprising connected perforated ears projecting from a sheetmetal body encompassing the wires, the side edges of said body beingcurled around the respectively adjacent wires, the fitting at the middleof the upper rib comprising a sheet metal body having dependingperforated ears at the middle, the edges of said body above and belowsaid ears being curled around the respectively.

the fitting at the upper end of the lower rib, the fitting at the upperend of the lower rib comprising a pair of connected perforated earsprojecting upwardly from a sheet metal body the edges. of which arecurled around the respectively adjacent wires of the lower rib, thefitting at the lower end of the lower rib consisting of a sheet metalbody, the upper part of which has its side edges curled around therespectively adjacent wires and the lower part of which is curled toform a single tubular tip for receiving a con ventional ornament. j

8. A folding umbrella rib comprising articufire lated upper and lowerribs connected together by a suitable pivotal connection, the upper riband lowerrib each comprising a plurality of solid round wires arrangedside by side and made of comparatively hard springy metal.

9. A folding umbrella rib comprising articulated upper and lower ribsconnected together by a suitable pivotal connection, the upper ribspring metal and having knurled ends, and fittings formed of softrust-proof sheet metal and secured to the ends of the ribs, the sideedges of said fittings being curled around the knurled ends of therespectively adjacent wires.

11. A folding umbrella comprising articulated upper and lower ribsconnected together by a suitable pivotal connection, a runner, andspreaders connectedbetween said runner and the upper ribs, each upperrib and lower rib comprising a plurality of slender wires made of hardresilient material and arranged side by side, the spreaders being madeof softer thicker wire, and having flattened perforated ends, andfittings formed of sheet metal and secured to the ribs, the fittingseach comprising perforated ears projecting from a sheet metal bodyencompassing the wires, the side edges of said body being curled aroundthe respectively adjacent wires, the upper fiattened perforated ends ofthe spreaders being pivotally received between the perforated ears ofthe fittings, and the'lower flattened perforated ends of the spreadersbeing pivotally received by the runner. v

12. A folding umbrella rib comprising articulated upper and lower ribs,each upper rib and lower rib comprising twin resilient wires arrangedside by side, said wires having a simple round section with the wires ofthe upper ribs slightly larger in diameter than the wires of the lowerribs, and fittings formed of sheet metal and secured to the ribs, thefittings each comprising perforated ears projecting from a sheet metalbody encompassing the wires, the side edges of said body being curledaround the respectively adjacent wires.

13. A folding umbrella rib comprising articulated upper and lower ribs,each upper rib and lower rib comprising twin resilient wires arrangedside by side, said wires being made of hardened spring metal and havingknurled ends, and fittings secured to the ends of the ribs, saidfittings encompassing the knurled ends of the ribs for secure attachmentthereto.

EDWARD OKUN.

